Life Is Sweeter...

Ah, the weekend has arrived, and after an early morning coffee at the beach with my beloved Mr E I'm ready to do a quick tidy of the house before settling down to some menu planning, reading, and stitching.

What's on your agenda this weekend? Hopefully something relaxing and fun!

Yesterday I was at Blossom's all day playing nurse while her DB was at work. She's like me you know, not kept down easily and preferably 'doing' rather than 'resting', but with pneumonia rest is the best thing so that's what I made sure she had.

By the time I left she was a little bit pinker in the cheeks, but Blossom has a way to go before she's over this nasty illness. Today her daddy and DB will do some clearing away around her house and she can keep resting. It's hard with a baby due next month, but if she takes it easy and lets us help I'm sure all will be fine. Thank you for your prayers, you are blessing our family and our precious girl!

 As you know I've been a Flower Sugar World Ambassador for Lecien Fabrics over the past year, but recently I chose to step down from this role to devote more time to my family, The Stitchery Club, my blog, and a wonderful Australian venture.

I do find it hard to work with a company in the USA when I'm all the way Down Under and have no desire to leave my shores, but I have to say that Yoko at Lecien is a delight and has made things as easy as possible for both of us this past year given that we're working half a world apart. It's been a privilege to design with their beautiful fabrics and I'm sure I'll continue to do so just for my own pleasure.

This month I completed my last design as Flower Sugar World Ambassador, a pretty mini quilt to make you smile!

"Life Is Sweeter" is 14 1/2 inches square and the fabrics used for the applique and borders are Lecien's new Flower Sugar Carnival. 

I love the white lace doily detail behind the floral sprays...

...and the tiny spots and rose bouquets which were perfect for some fussy cut appliques in my centre stitchery block.

I added a simple border to the block in order to highlight the fabrics, but also to let the stitchery shine...

"Life is Sweeter" now hangs on my office door, a happy cheerful greeting when I walk in there each morning!

The pattern is my welcome gift for all new members of The Stitchery Club but if you're already a current member, or you would simply like to have the pattern, it's available HERE in my Craftsy Shop and also in my Etsy Shop over HERE.

If however you'd like the pattern as a gift simply head HERE to The Stitchery Club for details.

Well, I must away to give the house a bit of love before I settle in for a relaxing two day break. 

Have a good time too, okay?

hugs

 

Make your own "4 Calling Birds"...

Before I go any further, can I ask you to pray for our Blossom...

 

Behind the scenes here at Elefantz HQ, our sweet Blossom has been in hospital.

She's now five months pregnant with her first child, and deliriously happy about becoming a mama.

But her health has always been rather fragile, and right now her red blood cells are very low so she's had to receive Haemoglobin through an IV. She's also had some other blood issues and received two courses of blood thinners.

After three days she was allowed home and is now catching up on lost sleep (something hard to get in hospital when you're being woken up every two hours for obs and bloods and scans and tests), but she's still in need of more IVs over the course of her pregnancy and a second heart scan in a few weeks.

Would you pray for her please?

Her beloved, her daddy, and I, have been by her side doing what we can but she'd love some refreshing energy to sew soft toys for her little girl before the big day arrives, and also to potter around in their new home setting up the nursery and generally being the homemaker her heart longs to be.

Your prayers would mean the world to her. xxx

Between my Club stitching this month and trips to the hospital, I've also been putting together this simple new design, "4 Calling Birds" using a few of the beautiful fabrics Lecien sent me from their Flower Sugar Holiday prints.

After drawing up a three-part bird template I fussy cut sections from large print red and aqua fat quarters for the wing, breast and body sections, before fusing them one above the other down a long narrow piece of white linen...

 

 I blanket stitch appliqued each section of the bird shapes with either Aqua or Red Perle #12 threads.

The next step was to make four 1" hexies. I chose to fussy cut them from an off white fat quarter so they'd give the finished appearance of floating around the birds.

After this I fused cotton quilt wadding/batting and backing fabric behind the linen to make a 'quilt sandwich'.

To quilt in a way that would compliment the design I drew three lines down the length of the linen with an erasable pen, then blind stitched the four hexies in place between the birds, sitting each one across an outside line. 

Using the Aqua Perle thread I sewed along the lines with a running stitch, and then around the hexies with the Red Perle thread.

 

I also hand quilted with running stitch around each section of the applique birds.

The final steps were to trim the wall quilt to 8" x 26", make and attach the binding (I used the remainder of my red fat quarter), and sew two hanging ties (from the remainder of my aqua fat quarter) for display from a small metal hanger.

 

I think this little project turned out rather nicely!

DOWNLOAD THE FREE BIRD TEMPLATES HERE

Do you love stitching birds?

In the shop at the moment is the pattern to make my Sweet Tweet Quilt!

You'll find it here.

 

hugs

Sewing with Doc Martin...

Are you a fan of the British series "Doc Martin"?

Blossom and I love it!

We've watched the Doc since the first episode (around 2005 in Australia) and I think I'm ready to go back to the beginning and watch them all over again, especially as they'd be perfect for keeping me company during the afternoon stitching hours.

My other go-tos for stitching company is Monarch of the Glen, Poirot, Midsomer Murders, any Kirstie Allsopp craft show, Lark Rise to Candleford and Miss Marple.

What do you watch when you're creating with needle and thread?

On Monday afternoon I prepared this festive pretty for sewing during the rest of the week...

After carefully fussy cutting shapes from three of the aqua, red and white fabrics inside my bundle of 'Flower Sugar Holiday' I appliqued birds onto a white linen background and made some sweet little paper pieced hexies...

I know it's early in the year for Christmas patterns, but there's a lovely joy which bubbled out of my heart as I began to stitch this and I think that's rather lovely, don't you?

Do you make Christmas projects all year?

I haven't before, but things could be changing...

May you be blessed with a delightful day, 

hugs

New fabrics and a recipe...

You may remember that I'm one of fifteen Lecien "Flower Sugar" World Ambassadors and every so often I receive a parcel from Japan, overflowing with not-yet-released Flower Sugar pretties to play with.

This week not one, but two bundles of floral and fancy came to bless me...

Flower Sugar 'Holiday' will be waiting at your local quilt shop in June, in plenty of time for Christmas sewing!

Before then I'll share a free festive pattern with a list of materials required which you can print up and take with you to the shop. There's a design wafting around my creative space you see, and it could be the perfect choice for a Christmas project.

For now though, let me show you the two prints I love the most from the FS "Holiday" bundle. Do they make you giddy with delight too?

The other bundle is just as delicious! 

Flower Sugar "Sweet Carnival" will debut at Spring Quilt Market in Salt Lake City, USA, and will arrive at local quilt shops by October.

I have ideas for these too...so many ideas, but which one to choose????

I may even host a little giveaway...stay tuned for that one. 

Every week, Monday to Friday at 7am, without exception, Mr E and I have breakfast together.

It's a special time of the day to chat, share a healthy meal, and pray.

Saturdays are different though, because he starts work 30 minutes later. 

On those mornings I pack a 'finger food' breakfast I've baked the day before, some cheese squares for our Merri-dog, and after picking up coffee from our favourite drive through cafe (Zarraffas) we head down to the beach, sit back under the palm trees and enjoy the morning view across the water.

It's a very special start to the last day of what has become a rather long working week for Mr E.

This little detour from the weekly routine helps make each Saturday quite bearable for my beloved, so I like to give extra time to planning and preparing our 'picnic' brekky.

This week I've played around with an old recipe to make it dairy free, wheat free, and sugar free.

Seriously, it was delicious!

In fact, we taste tested so much that it disappeared rather fast, so I'm glad he has a 4-day Easter break and no work on Saturday.  

(Although, I will make more cause we'll still go down to the beach - some routines are too good to miss...)

Would you like to try it?

I've shared the recipe over HERE on my 'cooked simply with love' blog where there's a link for you to download and print the recipe for your own files.

Do you eat fish on Good Friday? There's nothing yummier than macadamia crumbed coral trout in my personal seafood menu so I'm off now to buy the fish and some salad trimmings. Then I'll work on that Flower Sugar "Holiday" design...

 May you have a blessed and faith filled Easter!

hugs

 

"LOVE" : free for Valentines Day celebrating...

Mr E is not the Cary Grant 'hollywood' romantic type but because he loves me he 'indulges' my  romantic side, so over the last little I've been slowly stitching a Valentines Day table setting for us, something I can bring out on that special February day as well as on our wedding anniversary each year. 

I chose to use some of the cheery Flower Sugar fat quarters Lecien sent me last year...

...and then I thought you might like to use the L O V E templates and the little bird and heart embroideries for a project of your own?

My set is a simple table runner with two matching napkins...

You're welcome to download my free 'Valentine's LOVE' pattern sheets HERE.

What will you make with them?

 

Happy Australia Day! 

We've got the lamb ready to make kofta balls and a whole day off work to relax and unwind. 

I'm sure we'll kick back and watch the tennis later so I'd better trace something to stitch between points, and  maybe bake some yummy rock cakes for that afternoon cuppa...

Hope your day is relaxing too...

hugs

Free Pattern - buttons & bows...

A few months ago Lecien Fabrics sent me a bundle of next year's Flower Sugar and made me one of their fifteen "Flower Sugar World Ambassadors" (HERE)...

...and after carefully considering how to make best use of these pretty prints I'd decided (HERE) to update some of my old designs. Now believe me, choosing which designs to be updated is no simple feat, but a handful were eventually selected and on Saturday one of my most popular non-stitchery patterns of all time came to life in a Flower Sugar dress!

Originally the "Buttons & Bows" Bag was made using French inspired fabric, but this new one is a brighter and prettier version...

 

 

 I was so chuffed when I finished it, which was just as well because it's a Christmas gift for one of my dear friends.

And because it's Christmas all around the world I thought I'd give it to you also.

Well, not the actual bag, but the pattern to make one for yourself.

After all, we've still got a few days left of...

 

...so why not make one for yourself and one for a friend?

You can download the free pattern HERE.

You know, if you're pushed for time and you have some sewing friends that you need a gift for, why not print up the pattern and make up a kit from your stash?

I'm sure they'd be very happy with a project all ready to make in the New Year!

bless you heaps

All you need is love and flower sugar...

Being named a Flower Sugar World Ambassador by Lecien Fabrics definitely has some perks - like playing with fabrics that won't hit your quilt shop shelves till next May. 

Sorry you have to wait that long while I'm here already cutting and sewing and having a thoroughly good time!

When I was planning how I'd use the 28 totally sweet fat quarters that Yoko from Lecien had sent me there were a lot of ideas rolling like tumbleweeds through my mind.

But one stood out.

Remake and update  some of my older patterns.

I've been designing since 2009 and over the course of these last six years there have been over 300 original Jenny of Elefantz patterns published either in craft magazines, my own e-zine (which ran from June 2011 till early 2014), as PDFs in my online shop, freebies here on the blog, or through The Stitchery Club - so I have plenty to choose from. 

And I guess that would be the hardest part, but then I decided to omit the quilts and single stitchery patterns and only choose remakes from what remained.

So here's my first Elefantz/Flower Sugar remake.

Original inspiration was the "all you need is love" mini quilt from July 2011...

....and freshly inspired as a "Love" pillow (in the making).

I've omitted the wording, redrawn the hearts and flowers, turned the 'e' right side around, and put the word LOVE inside a square instead of as a line across. 

These fabrics are sublime...

Thread choice wasn't as easy to make, especially the right blue...

...so I gathered three and will probably use them all.

When it's made I'll show you the finished result. 

I'm seriously going to enjoy remaking my old designs!

hugs